FAS Schedule
The instructional day is organized around designated class start times and fixed pass times. All classes (including labs, discussions, etc.) must adhere to the designated class start times.

Cambridge Campus
Classes requiring up to 75 minutes in any single meeting shall begin from a specified subset of the designated class start times: 9:00 AM, 10:30 AM, 12:00 PM, 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM**, 4:30 PM, 6:00 PM, and 7:30 PM.  

• Except for  designated intensive language courses, no regular instruction may take place during Reading Period. Sections and review sessions may take place during Reading Period as may class sessions that must be made up due to weather or other emergencies.
• Courses may not assign new material during Reading Period.
• Courses may not host field trips or excursions during Reading Period.
• All seated final examinations, of whatever duration (up to three hours) or scope, must take place during the course's Exam/Final Deadline Group, as assigned by the Registrar's Office.
• Final papers, take-home exams, projects, presentations, and other culminating course assignments due after the end of regular classes must be due on or before the day of the course’s assigned Exam/Final Deadline Group, but no earlier than the fourth day of Reading Period. Final projects that include individual or group presentations may be scheduled beginning on the fourth day of Reading Period and may extend through the Final Examination Period.*
• Short regular assignments that address material covered in the last two weeks of classes (such as problem sets or response papers) may be due during the first three days of Reading Period.

Regardless of whether a class meets during Reading Period, that time is an integral part of the term. Students are expected to remain in the immediate vicinity of Cambridge throughout this period.

* Each course will be assigned an Exam/Final Deadline Group to spread out student deadlines and to establish grading due dates. While instructors may establish earlier deadlines per faculty legislation, the spirit of this policy is to spread students’ final assignment deadlines across the entire exam period to avoid having all assignments due at the same time. If an instructor decides to use an earlier deadline it is very important that students are well informed about this change from the posted deadline.

Examination Period
Courses that culminate in a final examination of any duration (up to three hours) must hold their exams during the designated Final Examination Period and during the Exam/Final Deadline Group assigned by the FAS Registrar's Office. There are two exam sessions each day: morning exams begin at 9:00 AM and afternoon exams begin at 2:00 PM.

Office of the FAS Registrar
Academic Planning: Classrooms Office
Richard A. & Susan F. Smith Campus Center
1350 Massachusetts Ave., Suite 450 
Cambridge, MA 02138
classrooms@fas.harvard.edu
617-495-1541 
registrar.fas.harvard.edu

Classroom assignments for courses are coordinated between academic departments and scheduling offices.

Instructors should immediately contact their department if the meeting time changes from the published course listing in my.harvard or when a change in location occurs after the initial classroom assignment has been determined.

Course meeting times and locations are published in my.harvard, and on course Canvas websites.

To request audio-visual equipment or classroom service help, instructors should contact Educational Support Services at ess@fas.harvard.edu.

After-hour emergencies and problems with the temperature or ventilation of classrooms should be referred to the University Operations Center (617-495-5560). Classroom maintenance or repair requests should be directed to your Department Administrator, to Harvard Yard Operations (617-495-8842), or to the appropriate Building Manager.

Course Classroom Assignments

The FAS Classrooms Office schedules about one-third of the classrooms in the FAS room inventory. The remaining classrooms are scheduled by individual departments, centers, and houses.

Initial classroom assignments by the FAS Classrooms Office are made after considering a number of factors including instructional requirements, enrollment information, accessibility, special circumstances, and room availability at the time of assignment. Faculty members requesting classroom space scheduled by the FAS Classrooms Office should communicate their classroom needs for their courses and course-related events to the appropriate Department staff member, who will compile and submit room requests to the FAS Classrooms Office in July (for the fall term) and October (for the spring term). Department Administrators and/or Course Coordinators should enter classroom preferences in EMS (the software used to maintain room scheduling in FAS) by the necessary deadlines. The Classrooms Office will evaluate preferences and supply tentative assignments to each department.  Once the department has reviewed the assignments, classroom assignments will be sent to instructors.

Assigned classrooms for courses and section meetings are reserved from the first day of the term through the last day of the term. Courses and section meetings will NOT be scheduled through the Reading Period, unless requested by teaching staff via FAS RoomBook. During the Examination Period, all classrooms are reserved for Final Exams. Classrooms are not reserved during University holidays and recesses.

Classroom Reassignment

The FAS Classrooms Office typically does not reassign classrooms until after the start of the term, when initial enrollment figures are more accurate. However, if there seems to be an urgent need to change room assignments, contact the FAS Classrooms Office immediately (classrooms@fas.harvard.edu). As a reminder, room assignments are subject to change due to enrollment numbers or other pedagogical needs.

Discussion Sections

Fall 2023: Instructors should direct their Head Teaching Fellows to the FAS Registrar’s website to review procedures for requesting section space. Classrooms for discussion sections are reserved on a first come, first served basis and are requested via FAS RoomBook.

During prior term registration departments can submit room preferences for discussion section/s to the Registrar ahead of the start of term, in addition to the room preference for the lecture. Students enrolled in the placeholder section must be moved into timed, capped sections in my.harvard by the Classroom Preferences deadline ahead of the term to be assigned rooms.

Reading Period

If instructors would like to hold class during the Reading Period, they must reserve a classroom via FAS RoomBook as their course will not be scheduled after the last day of classes for that term. 

Examination Period

During the Final Examination Period, all classrooms are reserved for the FAS Exams Office. After the final examination schedule is set, limited classroom space may become available for review sessions.

Non-Course Events

The FAS Classrooms Office does not book rooms within its purview for non-course events until official course meeting locations have been finalized, usually within two weeks of the start of term.

The following documents and links are posted to the FAS Registrar's Office website:

• Educational Support Services' Room Information Database

• Guidelines for Requesting Discussion Section Space

Faculty should post a complete course syllabus to the course website before the start of the semester so that students can make efficient use of the course selection period during the first days of the term with minimal disruption to classes. For help posting your syllabus on your course Canvas site, visit atg.fas.harvard.edu/canvas syllabus.

The syllabus should include a listing of course readings and materials. To control the escalating cost of reproducing coursepacks and sourcebooks, instructors are encouraged to determine whether the course readings they assign are available electronically from the Harvard libraries, and if they are, to link to them from course websites. For information on how to include links from your syllabus/course web page directly to readings available in electronic format, contact your department's Library Liaison or refer to the Get Teaching Support for Your Courses page on the Harvard Libraries website.

In addition to a description of the course and its pedagogical goals, the syllabus should include contact information and office hours for teaching staff, a reading list, dates of hour/midterm exams, due dates for papers or other assignments, plans and expectations for Reading Period, course policy with respect to late work and makeup hour exams, and the basis on which the course grade will be awarded. It should also include a clear statement about plagiarism and collaboration. (See Papers and Other Written Assignments for a description of the policy and for template text for this portion of the syllabus.) 

Beginning with Spring 2024 registration, Faculty must provide basic syllabus information in Canvas ahead of each registration period to help students select their courses. Faculty do not need to provide a full syllabus at the time of Registration, but should provide general information about the course that will help students decide to enroll in the course such as: format, assessment type, grading, absence, and late work policies etc. A full syllabus must be in Canvas by the start of term.

In selecting the dates for midterm examinations, as well as for papers and other assignments, instructors should be aware of the constraints of the Academic Calendar and should consult the information on religious holidays on the Harvard Divinity School's Multifaith Calendar. Instructors noting the possible dates of the course's final examination on the syllabus should also note on the syllabus that these dates are tentative until the final examination schedule is approved. Instructors are reminded of the policy that a three-hour final exam will not be scheduled for the course unless the FAS Registrar's Office is appropriately notified. For further information about final examinations, policy concerning alternative means of end-of-term assessment, and the process by which faculty should notify the Registrar if a three-hour exam is intended, see Final Examinations.

In courses designed for undergraduates, it is helpful and beneficial for students to receive an evaluation on at least one course assignment before the seventh Monday of the term, the last day on which undergraduates may withdraw from a course. In addition, it is important to note any limitations on the credit earned by passing the course -- e.g., a full-year 8-credit course may not be divisible at midyear for 4 credits -- should be made clear as part of the presentation of the course.

No substantial changes in the work load or calendar of a course should be made after the registration deadline each term.

As students enroll in courses, instructors will be able to view their course lists via their web-based portal pages at my.harvard.edu. After entering your HarvardKey on the authentication page, your portal page will appear. Note that enrollment data are protected under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 and are therefore not for distribution. 

The online course lists are continually updated. Only when a student’s name appears on the course list is a student officially enrolled in a course. Instructors should report to the Registrar's Office any student (other than auditors) who attends class, but whose name does not appear on the course list. Instructors should also report any student (except those with the status of “withdrawn”) who has stopped attending class, but whose name appears on the course list. If the student is a Harvard College student, reports should be entered in my.harvard using the Mid-Term Reporting which will become an advising note and distributed to the student's academic advising team. All other students should be directed to the Registrar's Office at 617-495-1543 or email enrollment@fas.harvard.edu.

No course may charge undergraduates special fees for course participation or required activities. Departmental budgets are expected to cover the cost of films, laboratory equipment and other materials. The aim of this policy is to ensure that all courses are equally accessible to students regardless of their financial means.

Course Enrollment

Prior term registration will provide Harvard College and Harvard Griffin GSAS students with an earlier period to register for courses, more flexibility to adjust class schedules, and the ability to set their class schedules ahead of time and therefore be more thoughtful in their planning. Students will have time during the first week of classes to adjust their schedules during the add/drop period. 

Drop, Add, Withdraw

No undergraduate may drop or add a course or change grading status in a course after the fifth Monday of the term. Undergraduates have until the eleventh Monday of the term to withdraw from a course. Exceptions to these rules may be granted only by the Administrative Board. Any course that a student drops by the deadline is removed from the student’s transcript. If a student withdraws from a course, that course remains on the transcript with the notation “WD.” Deadlines for graduate students are indicated in the Academic Calendar. Students officially enroll through my.harvard.

Graduate students have until the seventh Monday to add a course or change grading status (SAT/UNS)  in a designated language course. To add a course after this date, an approved Petition to Add must be submitted to the Harvard Griffin GSAS Office of Student Affairs. Graduate students have until the ninth Monday of the term to drop a course in my.harvard. To withdraw from a course after this date,  an approved Petition to Withdraw must be submitted to the Harvard Griffin GSAS Office of Student Affairs. A notation of “WD” will be recorded on the student’s transcript for the course if the petition is approved. 

Instructor’s Permission and Petitions

Students wishing to enroll in courses that require the permission of the instructor will not be able to do so until the instructor admits them into the course via the permissions tool of my.harvard.  The instructor’s permission must be obtained for all undergraduate enrollments in graduate-level courses and for those that require the permission of the instructor.

Undergraduates adding a course after the Open Add/Drop deadline or changing grading status to Pass/Fail must request permission via my.harvard. Permission is not required for dropping or withdrawing from a course. For graduate students, the instructor’s permission is required for adding or withdrawing from a course and is not required for dropping a course. For instructions on how to respond to petitions in my.harvard, please read this knowledge article: Responding to Petitions in my.harvard.

Instructors may not delegate their responsibility for approving course enrollments, change-of-course petitions, or submitting grades. Instructors are therefore asked to be available to students to discuss their course enrollment status and, when necessary, to grant permissions.

Limiting Enrollment in Courses at the 100- or 1000-Level and Below

As a general principle, students should be able to study the topics they want and for which they have the appropriate background, with the exception that concentration tutorials, including junior seminar programs, are ordinarily limited to concentrators. Nevertheless, there may be courses in which enrollment must be limited because of resource constraints or special instructional needs. The decision to limit enrollment for either or both of these reasons, as well as decisions about appropriate prerequisites, should be made by the instructional unit’s curriculum committee. The committee should be mindful of the general principle stated above, perhaps creating other venues where interested students can study the material in question.

When enrollment in a non-tutorial course is to be limited, the reason for the limitation should be reported to the Office of Undergraduate Education and the enrollment ceiling should be noted in the course catalog. The criteria for selecting among appropriately-qualified students for space in limited enrollment courses should be based on the curricular needs and interests of the students and on whether a student will have other opportunities to take the course. Selection on the basis of other criteria is inappropriate.

Enrollment of Non-FAS Students

Cross Registration

Students cross-registering from other Faculties or other institutions are allowed to enroll in FAS courses if they have obtained the instructor’s permission via my.harvard. Instructors will be e-mailed with instructions when there are cross-registration requests awaiting their attention. Students registering from other Faculties or other institutions are subject to all of the FAS regulations and deadlines, including the examination schedule, and are graded according to the FAS system. The Pass/Fail option is not available to cross-registered students. The graduate student option to enroll in certain language courses on a SAT/UNS basis is also not available to cross-registered students.

Employees (Tuition Assistance Plan)

Employees of Harvard University may enroll in FAS courses through the Tuition Assistance Plan (TAP) administered by the Office of Human Resources. Employees are subject to all of the FAS regulations and deadlines, including the examination schedule, and are graded according to the FAS system. Employees are permitted to add or change a course once TAP and enrollment forms have been filed with the Registrar's Office at enrollment@fas.harvard.edu by the appropriate deadlines. The Pass/Fail option is not available to TAP students.

Auditing

Auditors are permitted only at the instructor’s discretion, and may not attend remotely. Faculty have a responsibility to protect student information that Canvas may provide, and they are responsible for informing auditors of University and FAS policies governing access to student and course information. The following may be admitted as auditors: students enrolled in any Faculty of the University, individuals holding teaching appointments in the FAS, and their spouses. No official record is maintained for auditors.

Simultaneous Enrollment/Courses with Overlapping Meeting Times

No undergraduate may  enroll in courses that meet at the same time or overlapping times. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that there is no overlap in the meeting times of their courses. Exceptions to this rule may be granted only by the Administrative Board and will be considered only if the instructors in both overlapping courses agree and only in one or more of the following circumstances: 

• When one of the two courses has been granted a waiver from the Administrative Board petition process by a subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Undergraduate Educational Policy (EPC). Some of the courses approved for this waiver may establish limitations to such enrollment and/or delineate requirements that must be followed for a student to enroll simultaneously with another course. For a list of approved courses, please visit the OUE website: https://oue.fas.harvard.edu/simultaneous-enrollment. 

• When a senior can meet degree requirements only by taking the two particular courses in question and will have no other opportunity to enroll in the courses before graduation, in such circumstances, the Administrative Board may approve reasonable accommodations in consultation with the instructors of the courses involved. 

Undergraduates in Courses Designated "Primarily for Graduates"

Undergraduates may not enroll in courses numbered in the 300s or 3000s (Graduate Courses of Reading and Research). The only exceptions to the latter rule are students who are candidates for the master’s degree and in their fourth year of residence. They may enroll in such upper-level courses with the instructor’s permission. Incomplete (INC) cannot under any circumstances be given to undergraduates. 

Pass/Fail Grading Status (Undergraduates Only)

In 1967 the Faculty extended the use of Pass/Fail in order to permit students to enrich their educational experience by enrolling in courses they might otherwise avoid because of material that was too advanced or too unfamiliar. Consequently, with an instructor’s permission any undergraduate may enroll in a course on a Pass/Fail rather than a letter-graded basis. After the fifth Monday of the term students are not allowed to add Pass/Fail courses or to change their grading status in courses from or to Pass/Fail. Students enrolled in courses on a Pass/Fail basis are so identified on the course lists and grade sheets.

Instructors may not request that students enroll in a course on a Pass/Fail basis. The Pass/Fail option is not available to graduate, cross-registered, or TAP students.

All students are expected to attend classes regularly. Absence from academic exercises for whatever reason, including representing the College in extracurricular and athletic activities, does not relieve a student from responsibility for any part of the work required by the course during the period of absence. Students who, by their classroom absence, neglect work in a course may be excluded from the course. (See Exclusion.)

Storm and Emergency Conditions

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences rarely cancels classes due to weather. However, faculty and section leaders who commute should not be expected to put themselves in danger during serious storms, and may choose to cancel their individual classes. Because the Faculty rarely cancels classes, it is important that course staff inform students at the start of the term of the procedures for learning of class meetings that will be canceled. Similarly, it is important that the course staff provide students with instructions on how to inform instructional staff of planned absences. Instructors might find the following information helpful in establishing storm and emergency procedures for their courses:

• For the most part, undergraduate students are in residence and are expected to attend classes. Undergraduate students who decide that they cannot make it to class should be able to find in their course materials instructions on how to inform the course’s instructional staff of absences from class. For example, some courses request that the student inform the instructor or the teaching fellow of the planned absence by email or by telephone.

• Similarly, students should be able to find instructions in the course materials that indicate how the instructional staff would inform students of the cancellation of a class or section meeting. For example, courses might inform students of the cancellation via an announcement posted at the course’s home page on the web, via an email to the class attendees, or by leaving a message on the voice mail system of a centralized departmental telephone.

• FAS offices and academic departments will be open depending on staff availability and whether there are critical functions in progress. Call the central number for that office before going there.

• Final examinations and makeup examinations are rarely cancelled by the College and students should report to their exam rooms on time.

• On the very rare occasion when FAS decides to cancel classes, an announcement of the cancellation will be posted at the following urls: www.college.harvard.edu, my.harvard.edu, and https://www.energyandfacilities.harvard.edu/operations-center.

Restricting Attendance

Ordinarily only students enrolled in a course and auditors who have been given specific permission by the instructor may attend course meetings. From time to time, instructors may permit other guests, such as colleagues, parents, alumnae/i, or prospective students, to attend individual class meetings; however, instructors are always free to restrict attendance at a class meeting or meetings to regularly enrolled students and authorized auditors.

Date for Submission of Senior Theses and General Examinations

The dates for submission of undergraduate senior theses and for concentration general examinations are set by the individual concentrations but must be early enough to enable the concentration to make its degree recommendations available to the Registrar's Office during the first week of the Examination Period.

The dates for required language and general examinations for graduate students are set by the departments.

Students should be informed of these dates well in advance of the examination.

The administration of hour and midterm examinations is the responsibility of the instructor; these exams should normally be scheduled during regular class meeting times. In cases where hour and midterm examinations must be given outside regular class meeting times, the course head must offer a makeup examination for documented academic conflicts. The FAS Registrar's Office has no role in the administration of hour or midterm examinations. Instructional staff are responsible for administering Disability Access Office-approved accommodations, in consultation with DAO staff.

Instructors are required by law to offer makeup examinations to students who are absent from hour and midterm examinations for the observance of a religious holiday. Instructors are not required to offer makeup examinations to students who are absent from hour and midterm examinations for other reasons.

In cases other than absence for a religious holiday, if an instructor is satisfied that the absence is necessary and that omitting a grade for the missed hour or midterm examination will not affect the student’s course grade, final evaluation of the student’s work in the course may be determined from the remainder of the course work. The instructor may also elect to give a makeup examination. The responsibility for such decisions rests with the instructor only and not with the Dean’s Office or the Administrative Board. Instructors may also decide whether to require the attendance of graduate students at hour and midterm examinations.

Although instructors are obligated to offer makeup examinations only in the case of absence for the observance of a religious holiday, students who have obtained proper Harvard University Health Services (HUHS) documentation of illness may not be penalized for their absence from hour and midterm examinations. The appropriate form must be signed by a HUHS medical professional and given to the student’s Resident Dean who will write the student a letter acknowledging receipt of the HUHS form. This letter may be presented to the instructor as certification of the student’s illness.

Examination Booklets

Examination booklets for hour or midterm examinations may be obtained from the Exams Office (by appointment). Course instructional staff can contact the Exams Office (exams@fas.harvard.edu) to obtain examination booklets. A Harvard ID or Faculty identification card must be shown to receive them.

Athletic Events

The Department of Athletics is aware that midterm examinations are frequently given in the seventh or eighth weeks of the term, and thereby schedules few athletic contests away from Cambridge during that time. Sometimes the academic calendars of other institutions require contests to be scheduled in these periods. However, absence from academic exercises in order to represent the College in athletic activities does not relieve the student from responsibility for any part of the work required in the course during the period of the absence.

Absences for Religious Holidays

A student who is absent from an hour or midterm examination as a consequence of his or her religious belief “shall be provided with an opportunity to make up such examination...” (Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 151C, Sec. 2B). It is therefore recommended that prior to setting the dates for such exercises or examinations course heads request dates of absence due to religious holiday observance from students in their classes. It is the responsibility of the students concerned to provide that information promptly when so requested. If conflicts are unavoidable, students who are absent from hour or midterm examinations for religious reasons shall be offered an opportunity to make up the work, without penalty, unless it can be demonstrated that such an opportunity would constitute an “unreasonable burden” on the faculty. Information on religious holidays can be found on the Harvard Divinity School's Multifaith Calendar.

Papers and Other Written Assignments

One or more papers or other written assignments (e.g., problem sets, laboratory reports) are often included as part of the work required of students in their courses. Most students learn more effectively from a series of graduated writing assignments than from a single term paper, particularly in courses designed to introduce students to a new field or a particular mode of inquiry. The feedback that students receive on work completed early in the term helps to clarify what is expected in written assignments, and later assignments provide students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned from the earlier comments.

The nature and number of written assignments and their due dates should be included on the course syllabus. All regular written assignments must be due by the last day of classes, though instructors may grant individual undergraduates an extension of time for medical reasons and other special circumstances up to the end of the Examination Period, but no later, and may grant graduate students an extension of time until the end of the next regular term. (See Late Work and Extension of Time for Course Work.) Incomplete (INC) cannot under any circumstances be given to undergraduates. This policy does not include written final assessments (take-home exam, final paper, etc.). For information on final assessment deadlines, please see Legislation on Reading and Exams Period section of Information For Faculty.

Plagiarism

Any material submitted to meet course requirements — homework assignments, papers, projects, examinations — is expected to be student’s own work. Students are directed to Harvard Guide to Using Sources at the beginning of their first term, and in the required first-year writing course, Expository Writing 20. Undergraduates are urged to take great care in distinguishing their own ideas and thoughts from information and analysis derived from printed and electronic sources. Although instructors are encouraged to take every opportunity to reinforce and develop these lessons, the final responsibility for knowing proper forms of citation rests with students.

In cases of suspected plagiarism by an undergraduate student, please contact the Office of Academic Integrity and Student Conduct or honorcouncil@fas.harvard.edu. (See also The Administrative Boards) In cases of suspected plagiarism by a graduate student, please contact the Harvard Griffin GSAS Dean of Students.

Faculty seeking advice on how they might adapt teaching and student assignments to account for widely available artificial tools and platforms should consult the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning Artificial Intelligence online resources.

Collaboration

It is essential that instructors set out carefully in writing and at the outset of a course or course assignment the extent of permissible student collaboration in the preparation of papers, computer programs, or examinations. Students must assume that collaboration in the completion of assignments is permitted unless explicitly prohibited by the instructor. Students should be reminded that they are expected to acknowledge any collaboration and its extent in all submitted work.

Sample text for syllabus, if collaboration is not allowed:

Students should be aware that in this course collaboration of any sort on any work submitted for formal evaluation is not permitted.

If collaboration is to be allowed, the instructor may wish to define what is acceptable and what is not. Here is a possible approach:

You are encouraged to consult with one another on the choice of paper topics, and you may also share library resources. You may find it useful to discuss your chosen topic with your peers, particularly if you are working on the same topic as someone else, but you should ensure that the written paper you submit for evaluation is the result of your own research and reflects your own approach to the topic.

Submission of the Same Work to More than One Course

Papers and other work should normally be submitted to only one course. Any student who wishes to submit to another course or for another academic purpose the same or similar work used in a previous course must obtain the prior written permission of the instructor. If a student wishes to submit the same or similar work to more than one course during the same term, the prior written permission of all of the instructors involved must be obtained. A student who submits the same or similar work to more than one course without such prior permission will ordinarily be required to withdraw from the College or from Harvard Griffin GSAS.

Late Work and Extension of Time for Course Work

Undergraduates

Instructors have the authority to grant undergraduates an extension of time for medical reasons and other special circumstances up to the end of the Examination Period. Ordinarily, students requesting an extension of time to complete course work must have received the consent of the instructor before the final examination or before the final meeting of a course in which there is no final examination.

In deciding the length of an extension granted for medical reasons, the head of the course should apply the principle used by the Administrative Board when it votes extensions beyond the Examination Period: Extensions are granted for a period commensurate with the time missed during an illness, without penalty. Questions about an appropriate extension for an individual undergraduate may be addressed to the student’s Allston Burr Resident Dean or Resident Dean of First-Year Students.

If a student submits work after a grade has been filed with the Registrar but before the end of the Examination Period, and if acceptance of that late work results in a grade change, the instructor should submit a grade change at my.harvard.edu. (See Changes in Grades.)

An extension of time to complete course work beyond the end of the Examination Period can be granted to an undergraduate only by vote of the Administrative Board of Harvard College and only in exceptional circumstances. Instructors may not accept work from an undergraduate after the end of the Examination Period without the explicit authorization of the Administrative Board

Undergraduates cannot receive a grade of incomplete (INC).

Graduate Students

Instructors may grant graduate students an extension of time until the end of the next regular term. However, such extensions of time for completion of course work must be granted before the assignment of the course grade.

Instructors teaching an undergraduate course are asked to report students making unsatisfactory progress to the Allston Burr Resident Dean/Resident Dean of First-Year Students. This process can also be used to communicate special concerns about a student to the Resident Dean even if satisfactory progress is being made. Instructors may submit progress reports from approximately the third week of the semester until final grading opens. Please follow this knowledge article for instructions in my.harvard: Mid-Term Reporting in my.harvard. 

These progress reports go to the Allston Burr Resident Deans/Resident Deans of First-Year Students and are used only for advising and counseling purposes. They are extremely important for identifying students who may be facing any of a wide range of difficulties. Instructors are also asked to cooperate with the Resident Deans of First-Year Students and the Allston Burr Resident Deans regarding inquiries that they may make about the status of individual students. However, please note that instructors should also be in direct contact with any student making unsatisfactory progress.

March grades in full year courses extending from September to May should reflect the student’s current standing for the spring term. At the same time, instructors should report students whose cumulative grade for the entire year is unsatisfactory.

Hiring, Training, and Supervision of Instructional Support Staff

The teaching done by supervised instructional support staff is an important part of the undergraduate educational experience, as well as a critical aspect of the training of graduate students. Departments and individual instructors have developed successful strategies that encourage and ensure a high standard of instruction by teaching fellows, teaching assistants, and course assistants. These local strategies have been reinforced by guidelines developed by the Committee on Undergraduate Education and the Committee on Graduate Education (CGE) and endorsed by the Faculty Council. All hiring, training, and supervision of graduate student teaching fellows and undergraduate course assistants fall under the HGSW-UAW collective bargaining agreement. Please email studentunionization@harvard.edu with any questions about the contract and its provisions.

HGSU-UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement 

Graduate Teaching Fellows and undergraduate Course Assistants are governed by the HGSU-UAW Collective Bargaining Agreement under which they are considered “Student Workers” by the National Labor Relations Board. The agreement is comprehensive and includes provisions on a range of topics, including but not limited to hiring, training, workload, supervision, discipline and discharge, leave and other time off.  All University representatives responsible for the hiring, training, and supervision of Student Workers should familiarize themselves with the agreement, executive summary. Additional resources are available on the Provost’s Office website on unionization.  General questions about the agreement can be directed to studentunionization@harvard.edu, which is monitored by members of the Provost’s Office and the Office of Labor and Employee Relations (OLER). 

For additional information on supervision and discipline of bargaining unit members, including when the union must be included in discussions or correspondence with unit members, please refer to the guidance at the end of this document. In any case of potential discipline of a bargaining unit member, please contact the contract manager, Brian Magner, at the Office of Labor and Employee Relations (brian_magner@harvard.edu) before taking any action. 

Categories of Instructional Support Staff

Teaching fellows are candidates for advanced degrees and are registered as students at Harvard, in the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) or other Harvard graduate schools, except for the Division of Continuing Education (DCE). They serve as section leaders, tutors, and laboratory section leaders, and always work under the supervision of instructors who hold faculty-level teaching appointments in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) or another Harvard faculty. (See Responsibility for Evaluation for the appropriate role of teaching fellows in the grading of students.)

Teaching assistants engage in the same kinds of supervised instruction as teaching fellows but are not enrolled as candidates for an advanced degree in any Harvard School. Students in DCE hired as instructional support staff are hired as teaching assistants. Ordinarily, teaching assistants will have received at least the AB before the appointment begins.

Undergraduate course assistants are currently registered Harvard undergraduates who, under the supervision of instructors who hold faculty-level teaching appointments in the FAS or another Harvard faculty, assume limited instructional responsibilities. They ordinarily assist in quantitative-based courses such as mathematics, science, and computer science classes. (See Responsibility for Evaluation for the appropriate role of course assistants in the grading of students.)

In accordance with the Faculty’s policy, course heads should appoint qualified Harvard Griffin GSAS students for teaching positions before hiring non-Harvard Griffin GSAS candidates.

Instructional Support Staff Appointment Guidelines 

The CGE and the Faculty Council have adopted the following general guidelines for the process or appointment of instructional support staff. These guidelines generally apply to the hiring of Teaching Assistants and Undergraduate Course Assistants as well but contain details specific to the appointment of Harvard graduate students, and the relationship of teaching to their funding.  For general questions about instructional support staff appointments, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Education (OUE) at instruct@fas.harvard.edu.   

1. Early Allocations of Sections: Each spring, the OUE will pre-allocate sections for eligible departmental courses for both terms of the coming academic year based on prior enrollment. Departments should then provide information on available teaching positions to eligible graduate students as early as possible. Please note that pre-allocated sections are not guaranteed. (See below for more information on the possible reassignment of instructional support staff.) 

2. Application Period: Departments should accept applications for instructional support staff positions for several weeks to ensure the broadest possible applicant pool before a decision is made. To avoid financial inequities, final decisions should involve consultation between the course head and the chair or director of graduate studies, or another designated member of the department or program

3. Hiring Criteria and Timetable: The criteria for appointing instructional support staff should include an evaluation where applicable of each candidate’s preparation, English language proficiency, student graduate year, teaching experience, teaching guarantee (see note below), and satisfactory academic standing. Note in this regard that for teaching fellows, Harvard Griffin GSAS 1) requires that all incoming Ph.D. students who are non-native speakers of English and who have received their undergraduate degrees from non-English speaking institutions pass English proficiency tests before they can be appointed as teaching fellows; and 2) prohibits graduate students who receive dissertation completion fellowships from teaching as well as taking on concurrent employment. (Further details on English language requirements and dissertation completion fellowships for teaching fellows may be found on the Teaching page of the Harvard Griffin GSAS website.) 

The Appointment Process

Each spring, the OUE will request that departments submit their enrollment estimates and course section requests for the coming academic year via the online section allocation tool (SAT). The OUE will make its pre-allocations directly in the SAT. After the course enrollment deadline (April for fall semester, November for spring semester – OUE will provide specific dates each semester), the SAT will automatically display actual enrollment numbers that the OUE will use to adjust section allocations. These allocations will be updated depending on enrollment changes after first-year registration (in the fall semester), and the add-drop period (first week of class meetings each semester).  For questions or further details about this process, contact the Office of Undergraduate Education. 

Departments should make instructional support appointments for the coming academic year by the end of the spring term. Preference for instructional support appointments should be given to graduate students to whom a guarantee of teaching was offered at admission. (See note below.) 

After those students have been accommodated who are expected to teach as part of their funding packages, departments and course heads should consider other qualified applicants from within Harvard Griffin GSAS; special attention should be paid to qualified applicants from related departments and disciplines.After the Harvard Griffin GSAS applicant pool has been exhausted, students from other Harvard schools and non-affiliates may be considered. 

Written notification should be provided to each successful applicant making explicit the teaching assignment and the terms of the teaching appointment, as well as expectations for training and orientation, and satisfying the requirements of the collective bargaining agreement. A sample appointment letter is available on the Provost’s Office website. Graduate student applicants who are not appointed as teaching fellowsshould be informed in writing at the same time so that they can make alternative arrangements for financial support before the academic year begins. If a student who has been offered an appointment receives funding from another source or for other reasons declines the opportunity, that appointment may be offered to another Harvard Griffin GSAS student after direct consultation with Harvard Griffin GSAS and in accordance with the priorities described above. 

An important note on teaching "guarantees": As an integral part of their graduate funding packages, Ph.D. students in the humanities and social sciences are ordinarily guaranteed two sections of teaching per term for four terms before their sixth year of study at Harvard Griffin GSAS. Meeting this guarantee should be a cooperative endeavor between the student and their program. 

As soon as possible after enrollment (and again after the add/drop period), departments should reassign teaching fellows from courses that are under-enrolled to those that are over-subscribed, within certain limits. Reassignments should be made based on the graduate student’s prior indication of courses or areas in which he or she is prepared to teach. Departments should offer reassignments in ways that will minimize the number of teaching fellows with multiple preparations. If no reassignment is possible, the financial commitment will be honored for those students operating under a teaching guarantee, even if no instructional support is needed in the course. In this case, the teaching fellow should perform meaningful work for the department or committee, preferably in support of undergraduate instruction. Such reassignment must be approved by OUE.  Salaried teaching fellows (not teaching assistants or undergraduate course assistants) outside of their guarantee period will be paid 70% of the amount promised.  More details can be found in Article 4 of the collective bargaining agreement.   

Finally, be aware that immigration regulations limit the employment of international students to 20 hours per week while school is in session. This limitation also applies to teaching fellowships and research assistantships. 

For additional information about teaching fellow appointments, please refer to the Teaching page of the Harvard Griffin GSAS website.  

Training and Supervision of Instructional Support Staff 

Several principles have been formulated to assist departments in the training and supervision of instructional support staff. 

Departments should develop regular procedures for screening and training instructional support staff as well as routine methods of supervising and monitoring their performance. Not only do such practices help to maintain good standards, but they also encourage graduate students to improve their teaching skills. Student teaching should be a rewarding opportunity rather than an automatic step in graduate education. 

By vote of the faculty on October 17, 1995,  instructional support staff are expected to attend lectures of the courses in which they hold appointments unless, in the judgment of the course head, the nature of their work does not depend upon their attendance at the lectures. 

• Individual course heads remain responsible for the orientation, preparation, oversight, and evaluation of support staff in the execution of their specific course responsibilities.  

• Instructional support staff should be provided with structured teaching assignments, recognizing that section teaching is more effective the more the instructor is involved. Regular, perhaps weekly, meetings to review course material, visits by the instructor to sections, and the teaching of a section by the instructor can be helpful to instructional support staff. In certain departments, these forms of involvement are routinely expected. Departments may adjust the teaching credit given to faculty members, if need be, to encourage their involvement in section teaching. OUE’s instructional meeting fund is available to support weekly luncheon meetings with instructional support staff. The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning encourages instructors and instructional support staff to seek help in improving their teaching quality

The Faculty Council has adopted the following guidelines for the training and preparation of first-time instructional support staff: 

• All departments and instructional programs must develop plans for preparing and orienting first-time instructional support staff in the pedagogical skills that will allow them to fulfill their teaching obligations. Training is considered part of the total workload of graduate student teaching fellows and undergraduate course assistants. 

• Orientation in issues of appropriate professional conduct should also be provided, and departments must provide a 30-minute slot for the union to introduce itself to teaching fellows. These plans should provide for practice teaching or other orientation to teaching methods at or before the start of the appointment for those without prior teaching experience. Plans should also provide for the observation and appraisal of teaching performance. The Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning offers a wide range of instructional support and professional programs for Harvard College’s classroom instructors. Departments are encouraged to have their new and experienced teaching fellows and other instructional support staff utilize these resources. Contact studentunionization@harvard.edu and see Professional Conduct for more information. 

• Departments should devise a record-keeping system for instructional support staff based on instructors’ reports on, and observations of their performance. Such departmental monitoring can be used to reward outstanding teaching and to provide a solid basis upon which to recommend graduate students for future teaching jobs. At the same time, regular evaluation ensures that poor teaching performance does not go unnoticed. 

Student Compensation and Credit for Course Work 

A student may not receive course credit for the same work for which the student is financially compensated. 

Graduate students may enroll in departmentally designated 300(0)-level courses to have their teaching, research, or independent study efforts recognized and recorded (formerly designated by enrolling in TIME-T, TIME-R, and TIME-C). These courses are typically ungraded, but will appear on students’ Harvard Griffin GSAS transcripts.   

An undergraduate course assistant may not receive academic credit in any form, including independent study and supervised reading and research course credit. Research for which a student receives a grant may inform their academic work. Research performed for other financial compensation may inform academic work in subsequent semesters only, and only with the express permission of the employer, including a laboratory head. 

Special Considerations Concerning the Appointment of Undergraduate Course Assistants 

Because special considerations enter into the appointment of undergraduates as course assistants, instructors should observe the following guidelines when hiring and supervising course assistants: 

• Departments and committees that employ undergraduate course assistants should consult with the candidate’s Allston Burr Resident Dean to confirm that the candidate has attained sophomore standing and has earned a cumulative GPA of 3.33 or higher. Departments may also wish to consult with the candidate’s Allston Burr Resident Dean and academic adviser about the candidate’s ability to successfully balance the duties of the course assistant position with his or her other commitments. 

• Under faculty supervision, undergraduate course assistants may lead sections or problem-solving sessions and assume other limited instructional duties. Over the term, they may work an average of 10-12 hours per week. However, undergraduate course assistants may not take on any administrative responsibilities for a course, such as those typically held by a head teaching fellow. 

• Under faculty supervision, undergraduate course assistants may evaluate other students’ assignments when the grading involves objective assessment, such as checking answers on a problem set. However, undergraduate course assistants may not grade other students’ work when that work requires subjective assessment, such as evaluating essays, written portions of examinations, or final projects.  

• As undergraduates may fail to recognize the implications of serving in an instructional role, instructors should take special responsibility for initiating discussions about professional conduct, including the impropriety of amorous relationships with students and the importance of both equity and confidentiality. 

The Faculty of Arts and Sciences oversees a process of course evaluation of undergraduate and graduate courses each term. This evaluation process serves several purposes. It provides feedback from students to the head of a course about course structure, the quality of the instruction, and the nature of assignments. It also provides important feedback for instructional support staff, many of whom are in their early years of teaching and benefit from the comments of students. Participation in the course evaluation process is required of all Faculty in courses with 5 or more students. The course evaluation process itself takes place online.

Students who, for whatever reason, submit work either not their own or without clear attribution to its sources will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including requirement to withdraw from the College. Students suspected of any violation of these standards will not be permitted to submit a Q evaluation of the course in which the infraction occurred.

Summary statistics and comments submitted by students are accessed electronically by the course heads, instructors, teaching fellows, teaching assistants, and course assistants of evaluated courses after final grades for the term have been submitted (Q.fas.harvard.edu). Course evaluation results are also made available to the chair of the department or committee offering the course. Both Faculty and instructional support staff, particularly teaching fellows, should keep this information as it will be useful later as an input for promotion decisions and as part of consideration for other teaching positions. These evaluations will be part of the graduate student’s electronic teaching record. Finally, aggregate numerical data and limited text results are also made available to students, providing them with additional information for use in their course selection process. Students can access the course evaluation results through the online course selection tool at my.harvard.edu.

The Office of Undergraduate Education reviews the forms for any member of the instructional support staff whose average "overall" rating raises concerns about the quality of instruction. In these very few cases, the Dean of Undergraduate Education may send a letter to that instructor, copied to the course head(s), urging them to seek appropriate advice on how to improve their teaching. If members of the instructional support staff receive such cautionary letters a second time, they may be prohibited from further teaching in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.